8 Days / 7 Nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$4,495.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$4,798.00

Private Tour

Hike to Machu Picchu with Independent Scholar Peter Frost

Hike the One-Day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with famous explorer and independent scholar Peter Frost. Let famous explorers, anthropologists, and preservationists introduce you to Sacred Peru, a land where past and present are intimately and beautifully intertwined.

10 days / 9 nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$5,588.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$5,698.00

Private Tour

Experience the Amazon Rainforest in Luxury

Take a journey from Machu Picchu and the Amazon through the sacred Inca heartland to the ancestral territory of Peru’s indigenous jungle tribes. Awake to a symphony of sounds at an award-winning Amazon eco lodge, and explore the canopy of the Amazon rainforest via a 1,135-foot treetop canopy walkway.

9 Days / 8 Nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$5,255.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$5,498.00

Private Tour

Luxury Trek to Machu Picchu on the Original Inca Trail

Discover the remarkable social and spiritual organization of the Inca Empire on a luxury trek to Machu Picchu. Hike through lush corn valleys, up and over the high puna, down a magnificent Inca staircase into a bamboo cloud forest, and through the Inti Punku, the Gate of the Sun, for your first glimpse of the mystical 15th century citadel of Machu Picchu.

9 Days / 8 Nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$3,638.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$3,898.00

Private Tour

Locally-Inspired Peru Journey to Nourish Your Soul

Explore the Lost City of the Incas with a local expert, and experience Andean culture first-hand through intimate encounters with Inca history experts, chicha brewers, traditional artisans, and Pisco sommeliers. Discover the most unique cultural and historical experiences in Peru on our distinctive, signature private Peru tour.

7 days / 6 nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$3,355.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$3,528.00

Private Tour

Private Machu Picchu Tour Designed & Delivered by Hand

Follow the footsteps of Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu and discover Peru’s living culture in Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Let famous weavers, photography, and cultural experts introduce you to Sacred Peru, a land where past and present are intimately and beautifully intertwined.

7 Days / 6 Nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$4,695.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$4,898.00

Private Tour

Discover the Next Big Thing... ¡PISCO!

Meet Peru’s foremost Pisco producers; savor fine wines at South America’s oldest bodega; learn gastronomic secrets with a top culinary specialist; explore an area of Peru that is often overlooked, but never under-appreciated. Glean a taste from our Insider as we raise our glass to one of Peru’s best kept secrets… ¡PISCO!

10 days / 9 nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$6,398.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$6,688.00

Private Tour

Mount Fitz Roy, Perito Moreno Glacier & the Paine Massif

Behold South America’s most impressive glaciers, fly-fish lonesome streams, ride horses through serene valleys, and savor the magnificence of “impossible” Andean peaks. Venture through untarnished Patagonian wilderness on this beautiful journey through one of the most wildly remote and enchanting frontiers on earth.

13 days / 12 nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$7,298.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$7,495.00

Private Tour

Argentina Wine Tour & Luxury Patagonia Adventure

Experience laid-back luxury in Argentina’s winegrowing region, eat at Francis Mallman’s Siete Fuegos Restaurant, and sample a selection of small-batch boutique wines with an expert sommelier. Wine, dine, and wander your way from the wilds of Patagonia to the Napa Valley of South America on this tastefully designed private Argentina tour.

10 days / 9 nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$4,118.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$4,248.00

Private Tour

Experience Patagonia's Legendary Ranches

Immerse in Argentina’s living culture with the local gauchos, learning about their traditional sheep shearing, cattle wrangling and cooking styles. Drink mate and malbecs, prepare an asado with an Argentine cooking specialist, horseback ride at historic estancias from San Antonio de Areco to La Patagonia, and learn to play polo if you wish!

Cusco

During the peak of the Inca Empire, the city of Cusco was home to 300,000 indigenous Americans. High in the Andes mountains and far from the European cities of the time, this incredible New World city flourished as the administrative and military capital of the great Inca Empire. At the time, all Inca roads led to Cusco, where the four great regions of Tahuantinsuyo met, or the navel of the earth as the Inca knew it. Speaking on behalf of Cusco, Francisco Pizarro famously reported to the crown that “this is the greatest and finest city ever seen in this country or the Indies… We can assure you, your majesty, that it is so beautiful and has such fine buildings that it would be remarkable even in Spain.”

Spanish Influence

While this noble indigenous empire was eventually seized and destroyed by Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, Cusco remains the most important city in the Andean realm to this day. After taking control of Cusco, the Spanish erected enormous cathedrals and administrative buildings atop former Inca Temples, creating a one-of-a-kind urban landscape where colonial Spanish architecture blends with Inca masonry in a remarkable fashion.

A Cultural Mecca

Located 11,150 ft. above sea level in an Andean valley near Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, Cusco is undoubtedly the most beautiful city in Peru, if not all of South America. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cusco champions the outstanding stone masonry and town planning capabilities of the Inca, with some of the most beautiful rockwork you will find anywhere in the world. Like Rome or Istanbul, Cusco abounds with historical sites and continues to be a cultural mecca to this day.

Cusco Practical Information:

How to Get to Cusco

The easiest way to get to Cusco is by flying in from Lima, although there are other ways to get there for less conventional travelers. Although it is possible, very few people travel from Lima to Cusco by car since the journey takes upwards of twenty hours. Some of the more logistically sound ways to travel to Cusco include:

Flying in from Lima via LAN, Peruana, Taca, Avianca, or Star Peru

Arriving by train from Lake Titicaca on the Andean Explorer

Arriving by car from Puno, Arequipa, Ayacucho, or Puerto Maldonado

Flying in from Puerto Maldonado or Juliaca

When to Go

For optimal weather, we recommend visiting Cusco during the dry season between May and October. However, April and November can also be good times to visit, and some hotels offer better rates. The wet season peaks between December and March, and rains are prevalent.

As the gateway to Machu Picchu, Cusco has become Peru’s tourism hub, although it is certainly worthy of independent recognition as one of the best places to visit in Peru (or all of South America for that matter).

Cusco, Peru, ranks beside La Paz, Bolivia, and Kathmandu, Nepal, as one of the world’s highest cities. For this reason, we always advise travelers to descend to the Sacred Valley upon arrival. By structuring your Peru trip this way, you help reduce your risk of altitude sickness and allow your body to gradually acclimatize. If you are concerned about the altitude, there are select luxury lodges in Cusco that offer oxygenated rooms, although their effectiveness in assisting with acclimation is the subject of much scrutiny. For more tips and advice for altitude travel in Peru, see our article regarding Peru Altitude Sickness Prevention.

We recommend a minimum stay of two nights in Cusco, although three nights allows for more exploration opportunities. The best way to setup a classic trip to Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley is to descend to the Sacred Valley on the first day upon arrival, spend a night or two in the Urubamba Valley, visit Machu Picchu, and then finish the trip with a few nights in the city. We advise allotting at least one full day for a Cusco city tour and a visit to the nearby ruins. Cusco is also a good jumping off point for travelers seeking to visit Lake Titicaca, and the city’s high elevation can make for strategic acclimation prior to visiting the world’s highest navigable lake.

Recommended Tours in Cusco:

Ranging from quaint indigenous markets to Inca archaeological masterpieces, there is so much to offer in Cusco that it is difficult to pinpoint the highlight experiences. The most intriguing excursions in and around the city vary depending on your personal interests, but here are a few Cusco tours and experiences that we recommend:

Destination

Peru

Patagonia

Luxury Accommodations

With more and more tourists arriving every year, Cusco has responded to the tourism demand with some of the most extraordinary hotel options in South America. Several of these incredible lodges enable guests to stay in former colonial monasteries or Inca buildings. While there are many great luxury lodges in Cusco, these three reign superior in our opinion:

9 Days / 8 Nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$5,255.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$5,498.00

Discover the remarkable social and spiritual organization of the Inca Empire on a luxury trek to Machu Picchu. Hike through lush corn valleys, up and over the high puna, down a magnificent Inca staircase into a bamboo cloud forest, and through the Inti Punku, the Gate of the Sun, for your first glimpse of the mystical 15th century citadel of Machu Picchu.

7 days / 6 nights

2019 PRICING FROM

$3,355.00

2020 PRICING FROM

$3,528.00

Follow the footsteps of Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu and discover Peru’s living culture in Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Let famous weavers, photography, and cultural experts introduce you to Sacred Peru, a land where past and present are intimately and beautifully intertwined.